Bowling alley



United States Patent' 7 BGWLING ALLEY William F. Grawey, Peoria, 111.

Application July 9, 1954, Serial No. 442,398

'5 Claims. (Cl. 273-951) This invention relates to bowling alleys and more particularly to a bowling alley divided transversely into sections.

It is well "known in the bowling alley art that the wear to which the alley is subjected varies considerably throughout the extent .of the alley. For example, the portion of the alley immediately forward of the foul line is subjected to excessive wear due to the lobbing of the ball and the portion adjacent the pins is subject to excessive wear due to the movement of the pins in engagement therewith. Consequently, where the entire alley is constructed as a unit, it is often necessary to discard perfectly good portions of the alley in order to repair a single portion thereof.

' The present invention contemplates a novel bowling alley construction wherein a plurality of individual sections are utilized so that as the different sections are subjected to varying degrees of Wear the alley may be repaired by merely replacing the excessively worn section or sections. In this manner, the maintenance of the alley is greatly facilitated and the cost thereof substantially reduced;

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a bowling alley having a plurality of individual' sections disposed in end to end engagement each of which may be readily removed for repair or replace ment.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a sectional bowling alley having improved means for connecting the sections in end to end engagement so that individual sections may be readily removed without the necessity of disturbing the other sections.

, A further object of the present invention is the provision of an improved bowling alley construction having a plurality of individual sections mounted on a series of spaced transverse supporting members so as to be carried in removable relationship thereby.

A still further object of the present invention is the provision of sectional bowling alleys having improved means for remoyably Securing the sections to a series of spaced transverse supporting members whereby the individual sections may be easilyremoved by the simple removal of a set of fastening elements.

Still another object of the present invention is the provision of a bowling alley constructed of a plurality of laminated sections which may be economically prefabricated and shipped as individual units to the point of installation, which sections may be installed so that each may be individually removed when worn and replaced by a like section.

A still further object of the present invention is the provision of a bowling alley construction which may be easily and economically constructed and installed and which may be maintained in working order at a relatively low cost.

These and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent during the course of the following detailed description and appended claims.

ice j The invention may best be understood with reference to the accompanying drawing wherein an illustrated embodiment is shown.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan view showing a bowling alley constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary top plan of the forward sections of the bowling alley.

Figure 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line 33 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line 44 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line 55 of Figure 2.

And Figure 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line 66 of Figure 2.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings there is shown in Figure la bowling alley 10 constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention. The alley 10 is preferably constructed of a plurality of longitudinally extending, laminated sections 12 disposed in end to end engagement. Each of the sections 12 is adapted to rest upon a series of spaced transverse supporting members 14 so as to be readily removable there.- from.

The opposite ends of the sections 12 are provided with suitable cooperating means for connecting the same in end to end engagement. This means preferably comprises a relatively thin, elongated, tongue member 16 which is adapted to engage between cooperating grooves 18 formed in each end of the laminated sections 12.

In order to provide an. easily removable securement of the laminated sections to the supporting member, a plurality of longitudinally extending side wall members 20 are disposed on each side of the sections 12 throughout their longitudinal extent. As shown in Figure 2, the side members 20 are preferably arranged so as to overlap the abutting ends of the sections. The side wall members 20 may be secured to the sides of the sections by any suitable means, such as screws 22, or the like, extend.- ing through the side members into one or two laminations of the sections.

The sections 12 with the side members 20 secured in place are preferably attached to the transverse supporting members by suitable means extending through the side members into the supporting members 14. As shown in Figures 4 and, 5, this fastening means may take the form of a lag screw 24 extending diagonally through the side members 20 into each of the supporting members 14. If desired, a suitable strip of material 26, such as Celotex or the like, may be interposed between the section and the supporting member for the purpose of deadening the bowling alley sounds.

To install the bowling alley of the present invention,

) the sections 12 are first built up into a laminated structure by any of the means well known in the art, Each laminated section is then provided with a transverse groove 18 in each end thereof and the sections are then placed on the supporting members 14 provided with a strip of Celotex or the like. The tongue members 16 are then engaged within the registering grooves 18 to secure the sections in end to end engagement. The side members 20 are then fastened onto the sides of the sections by means of screws 22 with certain of the side members overlapping the engaging ends of the sections. The screws 24 are then fastened through the side members into the forwarding members 14 so as to secure the sections thereto. Suitable gutter sections 28 may then be mounted in place along the side members 20.

It can thus be seen that there has been provided a bowling alley construction which may be readily fabricated and installed. Moreover, with the present invention, maintenance of the alley is greatly facilitated and the cost thereof substantially reduced. In practice, it has been found to be preferable to construct the alley of approximately sections, the firstsection being approximately 16 feet long and extending from the start of the runway to the foul line. The second section may be another 16 foot section extending forwardly from the foul line and then two intermediate sections approximately 20 feet long may extend forwardly of the second section. The alley terminates in a final short section of approximately 5 feet which constitutes the pin deck. In this manner, the portions of the alley which are sub jected to varying degrees of Wear are divided into sec tions which may be removed and replaced as they become worn. For example, the forwardmost section constituting the pin deck receives the most excessive wear and requires replacement and repair considerably more often than the two relatively long intermediate sections. Hence, this section is small and relatively easy to remove. Likewise, the first two sections of intermediate length receive more wear than the long intermediate sections and hence are shorter for easier replacement. It may thus be seen that the portion of the bowling alley which receives the most wear can be most economically repaired and replaced, and that the difiiculty and expense of replacing the other sections of the alley is likewise in accordance with the amount of wear which the sections are subjected to.

With the present invention the removal of a single section is readily accomplished without the necessity of tilting the entire alley or disturbing the adjacent sections substantially. For example, to remove the pin deck section it is only necessary to remove the adjacent gutter sections 28 and the side members 20 overlapping the end of the pin deck section and the adjacent section rearwardly thereof. The side members 20 may be removed by unscrewing the screws 22 and 24 and then the section may be slipped back a distance sufficient to disengage the tongue member 16 from the groove 18 in the adjacent section. Another section may be readily placed in its stead by the opposite procedure. It is significant to note that there are no extraneous fastening elements disposed directly between the laminated sections 12 and the 'supporting members. With this construction, the sections are easily removable and hence there is no need to tilt the, adjacent section so as to gain access to a fastening element which directly secures the section to the supporting member.

When it is desired to remove one of the center sections, the gutters. 28 and side members 20 are removed as stated above and then the tongue member 16 at each end of 'the'section being removed, is pulled out or driven out from itsengagement within the cooperating grooves 18. With the tongue members removed, the section may be lifted out since there are no further fastening elements securing the same to the supporting members. It can thus be seen that removal of the sections for replacement or repair can be readily and easily accomplished by a rather simple procedure whichmay be effected withous complicated tools or machinery.

Another significant feature of the present construction is that the component parts of the alley may be readily prefabricated and shipped to the point of installation. Moreover, the arrangement readily permits a standardization of parts which may be stocked for replacement as the component parts are worn.

It is to be understood, however, that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as the preferred embodiment of the same, and that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A bowling alley comprising a plurality of transversely spaced supporting members, a plurality of longitudinally aligned, laminated sections mounted on said spaced transverse supporting members, removable means between the forward end of each section and the rearward end of the adjacent section for securing said sections in end to end engagement, a plurality of members secured to the sides of said sections and overlapping the engaging ends thereof and means separate from said sections for securing said members and hence said sections tos'aid transverse supporting members whereby said sections may be individually removed by removal of the adjacent members and the associated removable means.

2. A bowling alley of the character described in claim 1 wherein said removable means includes an elongated tongue member extending between grooves formed in adjacent ends of said sections.

3. A bowling alley of the character described in' claim 1 wherein said last mentioned means comprises screws extending through said members into said trans:

in end to end engagement including registering grooves formed in the adjacent ends of said sections and'anelon; gated member removably mounted in said grooves, a plurality of side members overlapping the engaging ends of said sections, first fastening elements extending through said side members into said sections, and second fasten. ing elements extending through said side members into said supporting members, said fastening elements constituting the sole means for securing said sections to said supporting members.

References Cited in the file of this patent NITED STATES PATENTS 1,529,295 Blanchard Mar. 10,1925 1,976,563 Johnsen Oct. 9, 1934 1,976,932 Forsberg Oct. 16, 1934 2,353,598

Somerville July 11,1944 

